Linnaeus 20.0

Easter chocolate coma.

This past week has been a tricky one for all three of us, trying to manage overlapping busy schedules while still getting regular trips to the pok to go on the fings. Oh & Easter.


Read on to get the full update...

Sprout is his mother's son when it comes to chocolate. He loves the stuff & now asks for it several times a day. New this week is that he's started to recognize the packaging in the store, so he'll demand dok-ate when we're shopping for groceries if we pass the sweets aisle. This was perfectly timed for annual Spring sugar fest Easter, where Sprout was spoiled rotten by his Nana & Gumpa. I'm pretty sure he ate more chocolate than real food on Easter Sunday.

Naps have been a challenge in the past couple of weeks. Not because he's not sleeping enough--he'll nap for two or three hours at least--but because we've needed to take Sprout to Kirsten's for a couple of hours in the afternoon, between when Oli needs to leave for work & I get home from school. Some days this has meant waking up a sleeping baby only an hour into his nap, some days this has meant he doesn't nap until he can't keep his eyes open. I don't blame him for not wanting to sleep at Kirsten's: his best friend Aiden is there & he's got some of the best toys. If Sprout doesn't nap before going there, he falls asleep on the way home, in the stroller, around 6 or 7pm. Napping so late completely screws up his bedtime too, then the next day he sleeps in & the cycle continues. 

The end is in sight with this napping mess, however. Tomorrow is my last day of school & all I have left after that is a single exam on the 22nd. My schedule is yawning wide & open, so we won't be struggling to fit Sprout's naps into our schedules.

Another new development this week is Sprout's started to sing songs on his own. Until recently he was just filling in a word or two here & there when we were singing Twinkle, twinkle, but now he'll make an attempt at a verse or two himself. I've tried numerous times to capture it, but haven't gotten the video camera out in time yet. Connected to the singing is Sprout's latest dance move. When anyone whistles, sings or plays music, he'll dance to it. He's figured out how to spin around to make himself feel dizzy & does it a few times a day.

I've noticed a few signs that Sprout is getting closer to being ready to try toilet training. He sometimes hides when he's pooping & seems more aware of it. Occasionally he'll tell me that he has a poopy diaper. For a while I tried to get him on the toilet when he started grunting, but usually by the time I got him there he'd already have filled his diaper. Several times I ended up with what could only be described as a slapstick poo comedy happening, entailing hosing down the kid & the floor. Consequently, I've decided not to even bother trying to run him to the toilet. 

I hope to try the three-day toilet training method that I read about here, possibly on a long weekend in the next few months. It seems like it might work & if it doesn't, I've only invested three days in it & we can go back to diapers. Early toilet training seems like a great idea until I realize that if we did it now, it'd mean that every time he wants to use the bathroom, I'd have to jump up & get his pants & diaper/underpants off, then wipe him & clean the potty afterward. Not really any less work than diapers, frankly. I think we'll work on the undressing part first & try when he's a little more independent.